Arlington Transit - Critical May Vote...

[mdunlap1]

I have mixed feelings about Bush's faith based initiative. The idea with that is to funnel tax money to private organizations, and I was trying to make arguments (something I'm not very good at) against mdunlap's vision of a tax-free society.

Just so you know, I'm completely against state-run faith-based initiatives programs as well.

I'm an anarchist, not a Republican. (Republicans hate me just as much as Liberals do. :D )

[gc]

Light rail popular with City Council hopefuls
By SALLY CLAUNCH - STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/14167276.htm

ARLINGTON - Transportation and the city of Arlington's fair-share agreement with the Dallas Cowboys were the main topics of discussion Wednesday among City Council candidates during the Young Men for Arlington candidates forum at the Wyndham Hotel. The race for the empty seat in District 1 in north Arlington pits Planning and Zoning Commissioner Mel LeBlanc against longtime city activist Rick Harris. Both candidates support commuter rail, including working with other communities on a plan and a possible sales tax contribution to fund it. Harris said that a commuter rail stop should be in the city's center to be accessible to everyone, and that Arlington should work closely with other cities on a regional plan.

"It's important we keep the doors of communication open with all the other cities," he said. LeBlanc said light rail would need to come to Arlington, even though the "voters have voted it down over and over again. We can't be ignorant of economic forces around us." He also said he supported the fair-share agreement on the stadium, which ensures that minority and women-owned businesses get the chance to participate in the project. "Diversity is here; we need to embrace it because it's the right thing to do, and it makes economic sense," LeBlanc said. Harris said the fair-share agreement should be closely monitored.

"The fair-share agreement is good for all of us; but the promise of a fair-share agreement is only as good as the results," he said. Incumbent Councilwoman Sheri Capehart is running in District 2, in southwest Arlington, against political newcomer John Jenkins. "Light rail is something we've got to do," Capehart said. Jenkins said that better transportation is important and that commuter rail could help alleviate traffic congestion and improve air quality. Both Capehart and Jenkins support the fair-share agreement. "It's only good for Arlington if we include all the businesses," Jenkins said.

Incumbent Councilman Steve McCollum faces two opponents for the at-large District 6 seat: Richard Weber, a former city employee and longtime critic of the council, and Stephen White, who has run for a council seat twice before. McCollum said commuter rail would be necessary and should begin by connecting Arlington to Fort Worth and then to Dallas. Weber said that if sales taxes were needed to pay for the system, he wouldn't support it. He also criticized the fair-share agreement. "The City Council has failed the city," he said. "The fair-share agreement is a farce; it's a joke." McCollum supported the agreement and said it will foster economic development in the city. White also supported the agreement, but like Harris, he said it needed to be monitored and enforced. He also said that he supports better transportation but that a bus system is more financially viable than light rail. Incumbent Councilman Ron Wright is being challenged for the at-large District 7 seat by Jerry Pikulinski, who ran for mayor last year. Wright said he wanted to closely examine light rail and see the results of a survey before committing to it.

"Call me a skeptic," he said.

Pikulinski said he had no objections to light rail, and he liked the idea of a referendum to ask voters for the sales tax money to finance it. "I think it's something that needs to be before the people," he said. Only one school board race is contested: Place 1, where incumbent Gloria Peña faces Bruce Hammond. Both candidates said the district needs to have more exemplary schools. Hammond said practices at exemplary Butler Elementary School need to be implemented at other schools. Peña agreed, but she said that as the district gets more experience in the new TAKS testing system, school ratings will be higher.

Sally Claunch, (817) 555-5566 sclaunch@star-telegram.com

[FoUTASportscaster]

Both candidates support commuter rail, including working with other communities on a plan and a possible sales tax contribution to fund it. Harris said that a commuter rail stop should be in the city's center to be accessible to everyone, and that Arlington should work closely with other cities on a regional plan.

It's good that this city is at least saying this, instead of worrying about the borders only.



"It's important we keep the doors of communication open with all the other cities," he said. LeBlanc said light rail would need to come to Arlington, even though the "voters have voted it down over and over again. We can't be ignorant of economic forces around us."

Also good to hear. If Arlington does this one day, my opinion of the city will start to change, but I'm still skeptical.


Weber said that if sales taxes were needed to pay for the system, he wouldn't support it.

I believe this to be the typical Arlington citizen's position on transit, which is why I believe any vote will fail. Anyone knowledgeable on the topic should know some kind of tax will be needed, and in Texas, that comes in the form of a sales tax.


White ... also said that he supports better transportation but that a bus system is more financially viable than light rail.

Typical auto-centric Texan in the suburbs. But, ask the untypical suburb like Plano and Richardson if it is worth it. I, for the life of me can't understand why places like Arlington have this stance when they see what is happening in the Dart LRT cities.


Wright said he wanted to closely examine light rail and see the results of a survey before committing to it.

"Call me a skeptic," he said.

I call every Arlington citizen skeptics.... and dumb for voting it down.

[RobertB]

Weber said that if sales taxes were needed to pay for the system, he wouldn't support it.
I believe this to be the typical Arlington citizen's position on transit, which is why I believe any vote will fail. Anyone knowledgeable on the topic should know some kind of tax will be needed, and in Texas, that comes in the form of a sales tax.
I can't tell if candidate Weber's position is anti-transit or simply anti-tax. But I was thinking over the weekend -- as regular unleaded prices crept above diesel again -- that sales taxes are a really bad way to fund public transit. As we've seen with DART, transit needs vary inversely with sales tax revenues. During an economic downturn, need increases as revenue decreases. Or like now, when fuel prices go up and increase ridership, there are no additional revenues to increase the number of buses on the road.

Weber may not be saying he's against transit, just against a form of transit funding that is bound to cause difficulty, especially for a small system.

(Or, for all I know, he may be the Second Coming of Wendell Cox...)

[FoUTASportscaster]

I can't tell if candidate Weber's position is anti-transit or simply anti-tax. But I was thinking over the weekend -- as regular unleaded prices crept above diesel again -- that sales taxes are a really bad way to fund public transit. As we've seen with DART, transit needs vary inversely with sales tax revenues. During an economic downturn, need increases as revenue decreases. Or like now, when fuel prices go up and increase ridership, there are no additional revenues to increase the number of buses on the road.

Weber may not be saying he's against transit, just against a form of transit funding that is bound to cause difficulty, especially for a small system.

(Or, for all I know, he may be the Second Coming of Wendell Cox...)


That is a good point RobertB. I wish we had a more stable source of funding. How does New York do theirs?

[darkblood]

(Or, for all I know, he may be the Second Coming of Wendell Cox...)

Speaketh not of the blasphemous one's name!

"Blasphemy.... BlaspheYOU... BlaspheEVERYBODY IN THE ROOM!"